A former student truck driver was found guilty of homicide for stabbing his trainer to death on August 25, 2016.
Stanley Polk received his verdict on May 17, 2018 from a Bell County Jury.
According to KWTX, a knife was recovered after the arrest.
Polk defended his actions by making accusations against his deceased trainer, saying that Ronald Ruiz was not showering and continuously lured him into secluded areas. Polk expressed that Ruiz would make him uncomfortable by complaining to higher-ups about him, and that ultimately, Ruiz pulled out a knife while hurling racial slurs.
At the request of Assistant District Attorney Fred Burns, Polk was asked to reenact how he killed his instructor. He obliged, using a yellow marker in place of the murder weapon.
After the reenactment, Burns opened fire with accusations against Polk’s story, saying that Ruiz would have been unable to open the truck door with his left hand because of the “hamburger you made of his arm.” He also brought attention to the fact that Ruiz’s knife was closed neatly in his pocket upon exiting the truck. Furthermore, there was no blood found where Polk had demonstrated a stabbing.
Despite Polk’s self-defense claims, the guilty verdict was decided by a unanimous jury within 90 minutes.
Polk sat in Bell County Jail before receiving a 50-year prison sentence from visiting State District Judge Doug Shaver.
His bond was set at $150,000.